England World Cup Thread

[iancnx]

COE

[uptheos]

Starting 11.

I know most of you well learned experts will slate me but this is the way I see it v Italy

Hart

Johnson/Jones Cahill. Jakielka. Baines.

Gerard. Lampard.

Sterling. Lalana. Barkley.

Sturridge.

I think we have an excellent chance of topping the group. Both Italy and Uruguay have weaknesses that can be exploited, and if we are lucky both the Biter and that stroppy git Baliotelli can both be dealt with by the Ref in any of the games.

Johnson is a weak link, gives the ball away too much and I really think Lampard's England days are over. Personally I would prefer Henderson whose box to box energy could be a big factor. I think Rooney should start, not sure instead of whom though.

[alfieconn]

Starting 11.

I know most of you well learned experts will slate me but this is the way I see it v Italy

Hart

Johnson/Jones Cahill. Jakielka. Baines.

Gerard. Lampard.

Sterling. Lalana. Barkley.

Sturridge.

I think we have an excellent chance of topping the group. Both Italy and Uruguay have weaknesses that can be exploited, and if we are lucky both the Biter and that stroppy git Baliotelli can both be dealt with by the Ref in any of the games.

bloody hell mate, what are you trying to do to gerrard and lampard? the two old boys in a midfield two rather than a three in that heat? ouch. oxygen tanks on the sidelines.

So are you saying the attacking mid 3 wont be helping out ? I would imagine it will be more like 4-4-1-1 when we lose the ball !

Edited June 9, 2014 by alfieconn

[rijit]

A huge part of this w/c is gonna be about controling the pace, playing in bursts ,conserving ure energy maybe having lamps and stevie g, slowing things down will work cos for sure I cant anyone else in the squad having the nous 2.

[smokie36]

A huge part of this w/c is gonna be about controling the pace, playing in bursts ,conserving ure energy maybe having lamps and stevie g, slowing things down will work cos for sure I cant anyone else in the squad having the nous 2.

I wonder if Italy are good enough to maintain 65% possession.....if they are England will get stuffed.....otherwise anything could happen.

Smart money on a draw I suppose.

[mad mary]

World Cup 2014: Gerrard on Hodgson's decision to pick Liverpool players for his squad

Jun 08, 2014 11:00

By Liverpool Echo

Liverpool and England captain opens up about his place in the Three Lions squad

Steven Gerrard on England duty

Such was the rough ride experienced during his brief tenure, few would blame Roy Hodgson for distancing himself from all things Anfield.

But when the England coach sought the men prepared to battle in Brazil, it was to his former club he turned most.

Even before Rickie Lambert bolstered the number to six with his pre-tournament arrival from Southampton, no club had ever before provided as many players for a Three Lions squad at the World Cup.

And for Steven Gerrard , Hodgson’s skipper both at Liverpool and England, it is the right choice in the wake of the Reds’ thrilling championship challenge.

“If Roy Hodgson picked four, five, six of the Liverpool players to go to the World Cup having had a great season, he’s going to be picking players full of confidence and really hungry to go and achieve something with England,” says Gerrard .

“I think that’s the key to this Liverpool team, you’ve got a great mix of young lads and experienced lads who are hungry to do well and that’s the mix you need going into a World Cup.

“You need players who want to go there to be successful, not players who want to go there and just enjoy being there.”

Gerrard speaks from experience, having played – and scored – in both the 2006 World Cup in Germany and the tournament in South Africa four years later.

While the likes of Jordan Henderson, Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge are involved in a major tournament for the first time, Gerrard is well-versed with the unique pressures and at times tedium between games.

Hence the flurry of activity from players in recent days, the highlight of which was Gerrard’s introduction to Instagram that saw him gain 200,000 followers within barely 90 minutes.

“The days are quite long – you’re obviously training in the morning and then you’ve got a lot of time to kill,” he says.

“But these days everyone has iPads and movies and the internet and stuff like that, so compared to when I used to go away with England 12 years ago it’s a lot easier to fill your spare time.

“The manager lets you have nine holes of golf from time to time and if you’re in a country where there are places to go to see certain things as a life experience, you can get out of the hotel as well. The players have certainly got no excuses with boredom and time to kill, you’ve just got to manage it.”

Gerrard, speaking to thepfa.com, adds: “It’s tough missing your family, but what I’ve learned is that it’s better to go to these tournaments without your family.

“Some players are different but I see it as a bit of a distraction – no disrespect to Alex and the kids but after a long training session or a tough game I don’t want to be getting dragged from pillar to post having to entertain three kids.

“I feel as if my own form has been better when I’ve been out there on my own, you’ve only got to sacrifice six-to-eight weeks of your life and you’ve always got FaceTime and Skype to stay in touch with the family.”

Similarly difficult is England’s task of progressing from a group the latest FIFA rankings have determined is the toughest in the competition.

Hodgson’s men begin their campaign against Italy in Manaus next Saturday evening, after which they face Uruguay in Sao Paulo and Costa Rica in Belo Horizonte.

Gerrard, though, is focused only on the opening match and a modicum of revenge after England’s Euro 2012 campaign was halted by the Italians at the quarter-final stage.

“Any of the teams are capable of getting out of that group if they play well on the day, but for us I think the key is going to be that first game against Italy,” he says.

“Every team at the World Cup is going to be looking at their first game and getting a positive result because the confidence and belief you get from that first result can carry you through

“If we were to avoid defeat against Italy it would be a good result.”

For Gerrard, Brazil is almost certainly the last chance to appear in a World Cup finals. Only Peter Shilton and David Beckham have won more caps for England, with the latter’s total of 115 under threat should Hodgson’s side progress in the knockout stages in Brazil.

“At 15, 16 years of age my thoughts were to try and break into the Liverpool team, get in and around the squad, get a couple of games and see if I was capable of coping at that level,” says Gerrard.

“It happened really quickly where I broke into the team and stayed there and when I realised I felt comfortable that’s when I started to think ‘can I go to the next level and play for England?’.

“But if you’d have asked me at 16 years of age I never would’ve dreamed of getting 100 caps and more.

“Now I want to make the most of it till the end.

“Every single day you have to set certain standards and you can’t fall below them because you’ve got players ready to step into your shoes both at club and international level.

“When I meet up with England there’s a lot of young talent in the squad, they’re desperate for my place in the team and I don’t want to give it up too easily.”

[alfieconn]

Mods can we merge this thread with the Liverpool thread as there's no point in having two Liverpool threads.

[mad mary]

England's Raheem Sterling could sneak up on World Cup rivals claims Jordan Henderson

Jun 08, 2014 22:30

By John Cross

Liverpool forward has not started any warm-up friendlies but "in training he has looked very, very good. I think he can be a big plus for us"

Michael Regan - The FA

Man for Manaus? Raheem Sterling has not started one warm-up game - will he be unleased on Italy?

Jordan Henderson reckons Raheem Sterling can be England’s secret weapon.

Henderson says his Liverpool teammate can take this summer's World Cup by storm and even claims missing the Three Lions' final warm-up friendly could be a good thing for the teenage flyer.

Sterling was suspended for the Honduras game because of his red card in the previous match against Ecuador, which gives him an element of surprise if he starts against Italy in the group-phase opener on Saturday.

England midfielder Henderson is convinced that Sterling can play a major part for Roy Hodgson’s men in Brazil – even though he has not started any of their World Cup warm-ups.

Henderson said: “Raheem is a fantastic player. I think you’ve seen that in the Premier League and even when he’s played for England.

“Possibly it could make him a secret weapon because he’s not played [in the friendlies]. Obviously, he will have been disappointed he could not feature, but in training he has looked very, very good, so he’ll be thriving on this.

“I think he’s outstanding, has no fear. For such a young boy he’s got great awareness and his knowledge of the game is really good. I think he can be a big plus for us in this World Cup.

“He can go as good as he wants to. He’s got a good head on shoulders, got good people around him, so he’s just got to keep working hard.

"I am sure he will go right to the very top. He’ll be a top, top player.”

Will Raheem Sterling be in YOUR Mirror World Cup Fantasy Football team? Click the link, make your picks and you could win £10,000!

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2014/englands-raheem-sterling-could-sneak-3662084#ixzz348lSuHu5

Follow us: @DailyMirror on Twitter | DailyMirror on Facebook

[iancnx]

Oh dear, oh dear, said James, the big red engine.

[StevieH]

Starting 11.

I know most of you well learned experts will slate me but this is the way I see it v Italy

Hart

Johnson/Jones Cahill. Jakielka. Baines.

Gerard. Lampard.

Sterling. Lalana. Barkley.

Sturridge.

I think we have an excellent chance of topping the group. Both Italy and Uruguay have weaknesses that can be exploited, and if we are lucky both the Biter and that stroppy git Baliotelli can both be dealt with by the Ref in any of the games.

bloody hell mate, what are you trying to do to gerrard and lampard? the two old boys in a midfield two rather than a three in that heat? ouch. oxygen tanks on the sidelines.

So are you saying the attacking mid 3 wont be helping out ? I would imagine it will be more like 4-4-1-1 when we lose the ball !

it's hodgson, it'll be 4-4-2 come what may.

it isn't about merely 'helping out' though, it's about owning the midfield. i don't think you do that against top sides with gerrard + 1. he needs two lads doing pressing and closing around him and then three mobile, pacy lads up front interchanging positions and roles. so i'd probably play gerrard with henderson and milner in the middle three. keep the middle third tight, don't allow opponents too much space in there.

[alfieconn]

Starting 11.

I know most of you well learned experts will slate me but this is the way I see it v Italy

Hart

Johnson/Jones Cahill. Jakielka. Baines.

Gerard. Lampard.

Sterling. Lalana. Barkley.

Sturridge.

I think we have an excellent chance of topping the group. Both Italy and Uruguay have weaknesses that can be exploited, and if we are lucky both the Biter and that stroppy git Baliotelli can both be dealt with by the Ref in any of the games.

bloody hell mate, what are you trying to do to gerrard and lampard? the two old boys in a midfield two rather than a three in that heat? ouch. oxygen tanks on the sidelines.

So are you saying the attacking mid 3 wont be helping out ? I would imagine it will be more like 4-4-1-1 when we lose the ball !

it's hodgson, it'll be 4-4-2 come what may.

it isn't about merely 'helping out' though, it's about owning the midfield. i don't think you do that against top sides with gerrard + 1. he needs two lads doing pressing and closing around him and then three mobile, pacy lads up front interchanging positions and roles. so i'd probably play gerrard with henderson and milner in the middle three. keep the middle third tight, don't allow opponents too much space in there.

So your basicly saying we should play the same formation as Liverpool just to accommodate Gerrard ?

Edited June 9, 2014 by alfieconn

[Chicog]

The good thing about all this Scouse crowing is that when it goes tits up we can accuse them of letting their country down.

[StevieH]

it's hodgson, it'll be 4-4-2 come what may.

it isn't about merely 'helping out' though, it's about owning the midfield. i don't think you do that against top sides with gerrard + 1. he needs two lads doing pressing and closing around him and then three mobile, pacy lads up front interchanging positions and roles. so i'd probably play gerrard with henderson and milner in the middle three. keep the middle third tight, don't allow opponents too much space in there.

So your basicly saying we should play the same formation as Liverpool just to accommodate Gerrard ?

nope. see there you go misunderstanding things as ever alfie. do at least try to keep up now and then eh?

i'm saying that if you want to play gerrard in centre mid, which hodgson appears to want to do, he shouldn't play him in a 2 because they will get overrun and stretched too much.

it's paul scholes you're thinking of who said england should play like liverpool, not me. i'm not ginger and was a less clumsy tackler.

[jellydog]

The good thing about all this Scouse crowing is that when it goes tits up we can accuse them of letting their country down.

True enough. OTOH Man United have only one less player going than Liverpool with twice as much chance their contingent will <deleted> something up sideways.

[bigbamboo]

The good thing about all this Scouse crowing is that when it goes tits up we can accuse them of letting their country down.

I didn't see too much of this scouse crowing at Selhurst.

[P45Mustang]

The good thing about all this Scouse crowing is that when it goes tits up we can accuse them of letting their country down.

Any chance we can blame Spurs?

[smokie36]

The good thing about all this Scouse crowing is that when it goes tits up we can accuse them of letting their country down.

Any chance we can blame Spurs?

Not this time!!

[uptheos]

Guess who does the most crunches? (not eat the most crunchies)..........picture Daily Mail

Edited June 9, 2014 by uptheos

[P45Mustang]

The good thing about all this Scouse crowing is that when it goes tits up we can accuse them of letting their country down.

Any chance we can blame Spurs?

Not this time!!

Precisely.

"It is better to fail aiming high than to succeed aiming low. And we of Spurs have set our sights very high, so high in fact that even failure will have in it an echo of glory."

Oy Vey.

[smokie36]

The good thing about all this Scouse crowing is that when it goes tits up we can accuse them of letting their country down.

Any chance we can blame Spurs?

Not this time!!

Precisely.

"It is better to fail aiming high than to succeed aiming low. And we of Spurs have set our sights very high, so high in fact that even failure will have in it an echo of glory."

Oy Vey.

That's why they both got sacked.

[P45Mustang]

Are you referring to Drogba and Mourinho?

Or am I missing something.

[uptheos]

JOSE MOURINHO ON...

...who is going to win the World Cup...

'I would be very surprised if there is a big surprise. I will be very surprised if somebody is going to win the World Cup for the first time. I don’t see a national team with conditions to do that, to break the stability.

'In South America the South Americans are going to be strong and they have two or three strong teams. I don’t think the Africans, in spite of fantastic players and much more experience as teams, I don’t think they can break the quarter-final wall and achieve more than that.

'In Europe you have always the traditional two, three. Maybe in Europe there can be an outsider but I don’t think there will be a big surprise.'

...England's chances...

'England is the kind of team I am always expecting something good but I am never surprised when things go wrong. When people speak sometimes about there not being enough quality in the team I always disagree.

'The 2004 European Championships in Portugal was when I came to England for the first time. Even then people were saying the England team was not good enough to win the competition, but even then the team was full of top players from the top teams in the country.

'Now, obviously you have some boys not playing in the top teams in the country but you have players from Chelsea, Manchester United, City, Arsenal, Liverpool. So the top five are all represented in high numbers in the national team.

'So you have quality and you have international experience - you have everything - so why not be a candidate? If England win the World Cup for me it's only a surprise because you won only once and you won when I was three years old. At the same time if they don’t go through the group phase it is not a surprise either to me.'

...whether England are mentally weak...

'You have fantastic players and never do it. Why? Maybe everybody is guilty. Maybe I'm guilty too. Maybe me and the other managers in this country are guilty too. Maybe we have to give even more solutions to the national coach. Maybe we have to give more to the English players.

'But after that comes more questions. Why don't we have more English players than what we have? And now we have to answer these questions. We go to academies, to youth football and to the price of the market involving the English clubs and English players.

'We can go in many, many directions but if England is world champion, it's not a surprise for me. If England is knocked out in the group phase, it's not a surprise for me, either.'

...Wayne Rooney...

'Wayne is right when he says this is his World Cup. It’s the World Cup in the right moment. He’s not a kid any more and he’s not an old player at the end of his career. He is in the best age. It’s his World Cup.

'He also has a role as leader in the team, a little bit similar to the role he had at Manchester United this season. He is always a guy with responsibilities in the national team. I think he is ready to cope with this pressure.

'Maybe the fact that the season was not good in the club can also play a positive role; a role of someone that is a natural winner who normally every season wins something. The fact that he won nothing this season can play a positive role because of his ambition and his hunger to succeed. I have faith in him that he can do it.'

...whether the best English central defensive partnership, John Terry and Gary Cahill, has been left at home...

'Now it is not so easy to get these partnerships in the club and get them to the national teams. Not many national teams can do it. The fact that John and Gary played together all season for Chelsea and they are both English means there would be a good possibility of using in the national team the work that people do in the club.

'Spain does this with some players from Barcelona and Real, Germany does it with Bayern and England can do this with Gerrard and Henderson at Liverpool and Rooney and Welbeck at United.

'But it was a decision between John and the national team, so there was nothing we could interfere. Not because you put pressure for Roy not to select him, or I put pressure on John and say "if you sign for Chelsea you leave the national team". No. It was him, Roy and the national team. So we can’t interfere.

'I think it’s the right moment to say Phil Jagielka is very good, Jagielka and Gary played very well in the group phase and we believe that they are going to make it very well for us. So it’s time to forget John and support Jagielka. That is my opinion. But I am not English.'

...England's group (Costa Rica, Uruguay and Italy)...

'If Italy or England or Uruguay are knocked out, you have to say "we were very unlucky to be in this group". One big team is going to be out. This is pragmatic and simple. Only two can go through, and you have three teams with legs to go until until the end of the competition. But after three matches, one is out.

'So I think it will be very very very hard to say: "England, Italy or Uruguay have had a big failure, sack the manager, the players are not good." Because somebody had to be out.

'It's a bit like in the Champions League. When you go to a quarter-final and you don't succeed, is it because your team is bad? No. It's because there are eight great teams in the quarter-finals and in this group, the group is hard. The group is difficult.

'But I think Italy is in a nice period. They are trying to play good football. They have a good mixture of young players and players with more experience. They didn't lose the tendency and the culture of defending well, especially individually. The players have the culture and know-how to defend; they have the know-how of the defensive game.

'But at the same time they have creative players and, without having a team full of amazing talent like you had in other generations, you have talent enough. With talented enough players who know how, Italy can go really (far), really.'

...penalties...

'Don’t speak about penalties with me because I always lose on penalties! The only time I won was the Italian Super Cup with Inter Milan, when we beat Roma on penalties. Imagine how lucky I was – Totti missed a penalty!

'I lost so many times. I did everything. I trained, I didn’t train. I analysed opponents’ penalties going back years, the percentage of where they take the penalty, the percentage of where the goalkeeper goes or doesn’t go. Also I don’ t look at this and do it by instinct. We did everything we could do. My final conclusion? It’s what he (God) wants.

'At Madrid I didn’t win the Champions League because Ronaldo, Kaka and Sergio Ramos missed penalties. They all came to me and said, "I want to be the first, I want to be the second, I want to be the third!" Okay then, go! That’s why I didn’t win the Champions League with Real Madrid.

'With Chelsea in the semi final against Liverpool it was exactly the same. We had everything organised, the first, second, third and fifth. The best penalty taker all season in training – never missed a penalty, amazing strikes – was Geremi. Ten minutes before the end of the game I brought him on for penalties – and he missed!

'One player who was out of the list, was Robben. He came to me and said: "Put me number one, 100 per cent it’s a goal." Okay, I let him go number one – and he missed!

'There’s nothing you can do. I keep saying I’m going to win a competition on penalties, a big one.'

...who is going to be the star of the World Cup...

'I think Messi, for sure. He has big motivation after a season where he was not happy. He plays in South America, so I think it will be a special feeling for sure for an Argentinian; it's a special feeling to play in a Brazil World Cup.

'Ronaldo had a good season. It looks like now he's having some injury problems, but I believe that he will be ready. Let's see if Portugal, even with him, is strong enough to do something special in the World Cup.'

...whether the World Cup has been overtaken by the Champions League...

'I think the World Cup is always by the social point of view something different that any other competition. For me, Olympic Games and World Cup are a different dimension in terms of countries and society. It's a global phenomenon.

'But the best football, I believe, is in the Champions League with the most powerful clubs, having all the best players. Every big player is in the Champions League and sometimes not every big player is in the World Cup. The best football is in the club competition, I think.'

Daily Mail

[alfieconn]

it's hodgson, it'll be 4-4-2 come what may.

it isn't about merely 'helping out' though, it's about owning the midfield. i don't think you do that against top sides with gerrard + 1. he needs two lads doing pressing and closing around him and then three mobile, pacy lads up front interchanging positions and roles. so i'd probably play gerrard with henderson and milner in the middle three. keep the middle third tight, don't allow opponents too much space in there.

So your basicly saying we should play the same formation as Liverpool just to accommodate Gerrard ?

nope. see there you go misunderstanding things as ever alfie. do at least try to keep up now and then eh?

i'm saying that if you want to play gerrard in centre mid, which hodgson appears to want to do, he shouldn't play him in a 2 because they will get overrun and stretched too much.

it's paul scholes you're thinking of who said england should play like liverpool, not me. i'm not ginger and was a less clumsy tackler.

Well it ain't a two man midfield when we don't have the ball, it be a four like iv'e already said, now somewhere your not understanding this formation bit ! you seem to think that the Attacking 3 can't come back and defend, all formations are flexible.

[rott]

Shock horror, a scouser posting an article about a Liverpool player on this thread

article wasn't written by a liverpool fan you berk.

just providing some context about sturridge's form and season.

Strange thing about ComradeH he denies being English despite being born there, is not from Liverpool but never denies it when anyone calls him a scouser.

If he is still in Chiang Mai possibly I can get up there, get a few Changs down him and offer a bit of counselling, one likes to help out when one can.

[Chicog]

JOSE MOURINHO ON...

Who gives a <deleted> what monkey boy thinks. Did you expect us to read that tosh?

[StevieH]

Shock horror, a scouser posting an article about a Liverpool player on this thread

article wasn't written by a liverpool fan you berk.

just providing some context about sturridge's form and season.

Strange thing about ComradeH he denies being English despite being born there, is not from Liverpool but never denies it when anyone calls him a scouser.

If he is still in Chiang Mai possibly I can get up there, get a few Changs down him and offer a bit of counselling, one likes to help out when one can.

never denied being born in england rott and have certainly denied being a scouser plenty of times. wool galore here. it's nice to know you're paying attention from afar though.

sadly not in chiang mai for a bit, time zone and curfew making the world cup watching awkward going on impossible. back there in july though and happy to buy you a beer any time you're up. none of that chang pish mind. got to have some standards.

[iancnx]

There was mention yesterday that my choice of Gerrard and Lamps in the middle was not good due to the heat. Totally disagree on that point. An older athlete has as much, if not more endurance than a youngster. Just look at the average age of top distance runners. Leadership is what the team needs, and not the wishy washy Rooney variety.

[StevieH]

There was mention yesterday that my choice of Gerrard and Lamps in the middle was not good due to the heat. Totally disagree on that point. An older athlete has as much, if not more endurance than a youngster. Just look at the average age of top distance runners. Leadership is what the team needs, and not the wishy washy Rooney variety.

footballers aren't distance/endurance runners in the same way though mate. a football match is made up of sprints, short intense bursts followed by short periods of walking to get breath back. in heat and humidity that tires players out much faster.

[iancnx]

There was mention yesterday that my choice of Gerrard and Lamps in the middle was not good due to the heat. Totally disagree on that point. An older athlete has as much, if not more endurance than a youngster. Just look at the average age of top distance runners. Leadership is what the team needs, and not the wishy washy Rooney variety.

footballers aren't distance/endurance runners in the same way though mate. a football match is made up of sprints, short intense bursts followed by short periods of walking to get breath back. in heat and humidity that tires players out much faster.

Yup, understand all of that. My point is older men, generally, have more endurance than youngsters. For example, the average age of a British Soldier passing SAS selection is closer to 30 years old than it is to 21 years old. Guts, endurance, determination all play a part, and the likes of Lamps and Stevie will have as much as, if not more than the youngsters. So the belief that they can't hack the heat based on age is misguided in my view.

[P45Mustang]

Lampard rarely ( if ever ) played 90 minutes in the heat and humidity of Stamford Bridge last season.

Need da young boys.